The Dead of Winter (Seasons of Jefferson: Book 2) (32 page)

Kaitlyn and Jenna split off. Mason, Brody, and I decide to go for the hard stuff. We hit the terrain park first. “Careful with that arm,” Brody warns. “You don’t want to mess it up again.”

“Oh, yeah. Seeing you out here like this, I forgot you jacked it up pretty bad. How is it?” Mason questions.

I lift my arm, spinning it in a circle. “Way better. I’m starting to be able to use it a lot more. You should’ve seen me chopping wood with Tangles last night.”

“Tangles? Who’s that?”

“Oh, just this girl I met.” I turn to Brody and can’t help but laugh at the image running through my mind. “Brody, you’ve met her.”

“What? I’ve met her?”

“Yeah, you plowed her over at the snowmobile park.”

“Oh shit! Oh shit!” His mouth falls open, as he booms with laughter. “You’re hooking up with that spicy country girl? The one who called us city boys? How the hell did that happen?”

“I’ve just run into her a few times here and there.”

Brody is still in awe of this new revelation. He slaps Mason on the arm, chuckling, “You should see her, dude. I mean the chick is
hot
.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything. You should’ve seen
her
chopping wood last night.” I can feel my temperature rise in my face, just thinking about it.

“Are you blushing?” Brody laughs. “You must have it bad. Wait til I tell T.”

“No! Don’t tell her. I don’t want anyone to know. They don’t know her anyway. She lives in South County.”

“So, how are you ever going to see her?” Mason questions.

Mason is so analytical. He’s always thinking. Questioning. “Dude, she’s on the race team. I’ll probably see her every day next week during practice.”

“Probably? So you haven’t actually hooked up yet?”

I think about it. Think about the near kiss. The
group
text. There’s not a whole lot there to show we’ve hooked up. That’s for sure. “Well, not exactly.”

“So, how do you know she’s your new thing?”

“Well, I don’t. Not yet. Umm. Let’s just say, there’s definite chemistry there. She flirts with me … I think.”

“You think?” The guys’ faces look doubtful.

“I think it’s her way of flirting. She challenges me. Like all the time. It’s so much fun. She’s feisty as hell. Witty. I love it.”
I can’t believe I’m telling them all this crap.
It feels good to finally get it off my chest.

“So, you really think you found a new girl? She doesn’t sound anything like Peyton.”

“Good. I don’t want another Peyton. This girl is different. She’s more … like me. Ornery. Stubborn as hell. But in a good way. I love it. She’s not like anyone I’ve ever met.”
She smells like vanilla cupcakes. Looks like a rodeo queen. Rides like lightning.
My pulse picks up as the butterflies start to take flight inside of me. “I don’t know, guys. I might’ve met my dream girl.”

The guys start chuckling. “Have fun with that one. She sounds like she could be a handful,” Mason laughs out. “But if that’s what you’re looking for, good luck to you.” He pats me on the back and looks up toward the lift. “So you boys ready to hit it?”

“Let’s go.”

We take off and hit the rail first. My tricks feel pretty solid. I think I’ve got my balance back. I’m strong. Much stronger than even a week ago. I think I’m ready to move on. Test out my skills. “I’m feeling some jumps, guys. You in?”

“Let’s do it.”

We get down to the lifts and load up for another run. On our way up, I feel my phone ding in my jacket pocket. I don’t take it all the way out. With my thick gloves I don’t want to chance dropping it from the lift. I unzip my pocket and peek in, just to see if I can see the screen. Still lit up, there’s a notification banner.

TANGLES: HI ;)

Hot damn. It’s her. Should I chance it? Take my phone out? I can’t. Not now. Maybe later at the lodge. Later, when we meet up with the girls.
I zip my pocket, securing my phone, just as we get to the top to unload. Inside, I’m a blustering mess of hormones. I can’t let the guys see me like this. I’m almost positive my face is red. It’s going to give me away, for sure.
Holy crap. She texted! SHE! Texted!

Come up with something to say. Something that doesn’t involve the word Tangles, or vanilla cupcakes.
“How’s your board feeling, Ma?”

“Dude, it’s sweet. I want to try the dog house. You think you can handle it with that arm?”

“Right now, I feel like I can handle just about anything.” I glance down at the trail in front of us. Maybe some challenging jumps are just what I need to forget about the unanswered text waiting for me.

I stand in line behind both Mason and Brody. They do some pretty cool jumps. But me, I take it like a madman. I am pumped up. When I hit that roof, I fly into a 360, kicking my legs back and grabbing the tip of my board. When I land it, the boarders on the side of the run cheer. I can hear voices blending into the background. “Dude, did you see that gnarly turn? That boarder is rad.”

Mason and Brody meet me at the bottom. “Well, looks like you’re back to the old Caden.” Brody pats me on the back. “Good to see, man.”

“Speaking of good to see, I need to go see if Jenna and Kaitlyn are waiting for us at the lodge. We’re probably late.”

“Shoot, I’m just getting started. Mind if I take a couple more runs while you look for them?” Mason asks.

“Yeah, I want to hang out with Ma for a bit. Meet you back at the lodge in fifteen?”

“Sounds good.” I take off down the hill, zigzagging in and out.
I have to pee.
I pull over behind a bush, lodged in between two trees.
No one will see me here. As I stand, taking care of business, I watch the skiers and boarders as they travel down the mountain. That one looks like Jenna. She looks like she’s with a guy. Where’s T? She must’ve gone down to meet Brody. There’s no way she could be away from him this long.
I button up.
I’m going to sneak up on her and blast her with snow.

I take off in the direction I saw her skiing. Just as I spot her, she begins to stop. It looks like she’s with a guy.
That’s weird.
I decide to go check it out. I want to make sure my friend is safe. It’s not like her to hang out with random guys. And it’s especially not like her to ditch my sister for them. She knows T’s not supposed to be alone. I take it slow, until I’m within earshot. She’s facing downhill. She doesn’t see me. I unstrap, and push off to the side, so I can get a better look at who she’s with.

I’m about four feet away, standing in back of them, when the guy turns toward Jenna. I can see his profile now. I have to laugh when I see who it is. It’s Daemon.
Is he following her?
Seriously, I don’t want them to hear me laughing, but now I know. He has it bad for her. I watch as Jenna slides her gloves off and drops them to the ground.
What is she doing?
I watch as she digs into her pocket and pulls out her phone. She leans into him, and holds it up.
A selfie? She’s seriously taking a selfie with Daemon, the French dude? This is great. Oh, wait until the ride home. I’m going to rub it in hard.

I continue to watch. This is too much fun to interfere now. He’s taking her by the hand. “Ziz iz zoooo beautiful. Oh look. It’z zee Kremlin. I went there wiz my program. Before I got here. Where did you get zis?”

By now, I notice Jenna looks a little uncomfortable. Daemon is practically pawing at her hand. It’s strange, the way he’s lifting it up and twirling his head beneath it. He seems to be scoping out the charms on her bracelet. I could swear he would lick her like an ice cream cone if he could.
Should I let her off the hook? Save my bestie? Nah. Maybe in a few minutes.

“It’s from my friend. She gave it to me for Christmas.”

“She?” His voice sounds oddly high pitched.
Is his voice still changing? It’s a little late for puberty.

“Peyton. You might remember her. She went to our school first quarter.”

“Aww. Zuch a zweet friend. I would never take it off. The Kremlin. What a special place. It’z known for its miraculous powers.”

I watch Daemon bow before her.
Oh shit.
I have to laugh.
This is the cheesiest, funniest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
I literally fall to the ground. Jenna snaps her head over her shoulder.

“Caden! What are you doing here?”

“Apparently, I’m here to teach Daemon some new moves.” I still can’t stop laughing.

Daemon looks embarrassed that I witnessed his sorry moves. I can see him fidget and start to back away. “I’ll catch up weez you later. Oh wait. Text me the picture. I want to show my host family.”

“I don’t have your phone number.”

“Here, I’ll do it. May I zee your phone?”

Jenna hands him the phone. “Very good. Zere we go. Zankz, Jenna. I’ll zee you at zchool next week.” He looks down at me and grunts. “By Ca-don.”

“Oh, Jenna. How did you hook up with him?” I’m roaring with laughter.
That accent. Holy crap. I’ve never heard anything like it.

“Hook up? Seriously? Geez. Give me a little credit. He skied up behind us when we were getting off the lift and asked if he could take a couple runs with us. Kaitlyn had to go to the bathroom, so I took a run with him. That’s it.”

“You took a selfie with him!” I clamp my lips together, trying not to laugh. “What’s he going to do with that? Post it on Facebook?” I shake my head. “There goes your chance at Winter Court!”

I can’t control it any longer. I’m doubled over laughing.

“I’m just trying to be nice. It’s Christmas. He’s away from his family. I wanted him to feel like he had someone. Have a heart.”

“Speaking of hearts. You know who’s in his?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Get a clue, Jenna. He’s totally into you. As a matter of fact, I have a little secret I’ve been keeping from you.”

“Really? What’s that?”

“You really want to know?”

“Tell me.” Jenna bends down and starts pawing at the snow. When she stands up, she’s holding a big, round snowball. “Or I’ll shove this down your pants.”

“Okay. You’re his background picture.”

“What? I’ve worked with him on his laptop, and I am not. His background picture is one of the Rocky movies or something.”

“Not his laptop background. His phone.”

She crinkles her nose and twists her face into a grimace. “How do you know? Is he your new BFF or something?”

Seriously, does she not believe me?
“I know because I saw it. On our last race. If you don’t believe me, ask Lennart. He saw it too.”

“Lennart?”

“Yeah, our German exchange student. The really smart guy in our physics class. You know, he thinks Daemon is weird too. It’s not just me.”

Jenna huffs and rolls her eyes. “It’s just his culture. You should give him a chance. He really helped me out with the whole heritage thing.”

“So, it doesn’t bother you?”

“What?”

“Having your picture on his screen?”

Jenna begins shaking her head back and forth. I can tell she’s curious, but trying to play it cool. “Well, what picture is it?”

“Oh, the one in your swimsuit.” I don’t look up to see her face. I strap back in. “Race you to the bottom.” I hear her grunt as I swoosh past her.
Got her good!

MY PHONE IS BURNING A
hole in my pocket. I couldn’t text her back while we were at the lodge. Everyone was flicking me too much crap for checking my phone so often, and I didn’t want to invite any more questions. I want to keep this one to myself for a while. She’s too much fun to share.

When we pull up in front of my house, the first thing on my mind is replying to that, “Hi.”
Hi … with a winkie face. Is she flirting? I don’t use winkers unless I’m flirting.

I stick my hand in my pocket, just to make sure my phone is still there, ready to go. “See you guys, later, huh?” I practically skip toward the door.

“Going to check your phone again, huh?” Brody jokes.

“Be careful with that one. She sounds a little feisty to me.”

“Don’t you worry about me, boys. I can handle my own.”

I don’t see my parents. They must still be at the Bailey’s.
Yes! Time to text.
I run through the door and jump on my bed. I open the text and inspect the messages.
What? She didn’t message back on the group text. She started a new thread. Just to me. Interesting.
A new wave of excitement overtakes me.
Oh, the possibilities.

ME: Hi ;)

Smooth.
I can’t go wrong with that.
I wait a couple minutes.
Maybe I waited too long. Dang it. I should’ve texted her while I was on the lift.
My feet are frozen stiff. I decide to hop in the shower to thaw out. I decide to bring the phone in the bathroom with me. I lay it down next to the shower door, hoping I’ll soon hear the sweet chime of a text.

Oh, this feels good
. The scalding, hot water runs over me, bringing life back into my toes and fingertips.
So hot. Like her. There’s her face again. Thank you, God, for that face. Oh, stop it. Geez. Get out of my head.
I slap at my cheeks, trying to knock some sense into myself.
Guys don’t fixate on girls like this. Maybe I should go get one of those magazines. Give my mind something else to work with. Maybe my dad has one hiding under his mattress. I know he used to have one.